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Sentenced

The man who owned a Federal Way bar that authorities say was a front for prostitution was sentenced today to six years in federal prison.

Milton resident Chang Young Kim, 59, also was ordered to pay $112,050 in restitution and over $1.6 million in back taxes and penalties to the Internal Revenue Service, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Seattle reported.

Kim, who owned the Blue Moon bar, pleaded guilty in November to conspiracy to transport individuals for prostitution, conspiracy to engage in money laundering, bribery of a public official and tax evasion.

Federal prosecutors said Korean National women working illegally as “bar girls” and prostitutes used the bar as a base of operations with Kim’s knowledge and assistance.

He also was accused of offering a $15,000 bribe an investigator with the state Liquor Control Board, federal prosecutors said. In a separate case, Kim convinced two clients of his real estate company, Royal Realty, to invest $400,000 in the purchase of a motel.

There was no deal to purchase the property, and Kim and two conspirators used the money for their expenses, according to a press release. Kim also attempted to evade more than $1.6 million in income taxes, the press release states.

“It is as though the defendant had no limits as to how far he would go to lie, cheat, and steal,” federal prosecutors wrote in a sentencing memorandum.